Mozilla announced the launch of the new version of Firefox 133 along with extended support versions 115.18.0 and 128.5.0. The new version fixes 18 vulnerabilities, of which three are classified as critical. These include memory flaws that could allow malicious code to be executed when interacting with web pages specifically designed to exploit these weaknesses.
In this new version of Firefox 133, the iIncorporation of Bounce Tracking Protection, an improvement to Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) mode.
This new mechanism focuses on preventing tracking through redirects by detecting specific patterns used for tracking and periodically deleting cookies and local data used for tracking purposes. Unlike previous methods, which relied on lists of known trackers, this protection uses advanced heuristics to identify and neutralize new forms of tracking by analyzing behavior behind redirects.
Monitoring via redirects It works by temporarily redirecting users to tracker sites before taking them to their final destination. During this process, Trackers store cookies and other data in local storage. This allows them to bypass cross-site restrictions implemented by browsers, as the cookies are set outside the context of the original site. Firefox’s new protection removes this data automatically, mitigating these types of invasive tactics.
Another of the improvements that Firefox 133 presents is the New functionality in the tab menu open, accessible from the button located in the upper right cornera. Now, the Users can view on the side barl a list of open tabs on other linked devices to the same Mozilla account, making it easy to access and sync across multiple devices.
Regarding the management of cookies, Firefox adjusts the "expire" attribute taking into account the difference between the server time and the local time. If the system is time-shifted into the future, cookies remain valid based on server time, which enhances accuracy in environments with inconsistent time settings.
In the edition for Windows now includes GPU acceleration for the Canvas2D API, and the Fetch API incorporates support for the "keepalive" parameter, allowing HTTP requests to remain active even after a page is closed, ideal for sending data at the end of sessions.
In the version for Android, desktop mode is enabled by default on devices with large screens, and now content copied in private browsing mode is marked as confidential, displaying warnings to the user.
For developers, Firefox 133 introduces new capabilities in dialog handling through the "beforetoggle" and "toggle" events on elements. , which now allow you to capture states before opening or closing dialog boxes.
Of the other changes that stand out:
- PiP “picture in picture” has received improvements and is supported on more sites.
- Added support for the contenteditable attribute set to plain text mode, and the :has-slotted CSS pseudo-class. Both can be enabled in the about:config advanced settings.
- The browser extends its support for Web Workers, allowing the use of API permissions through the WorkerNavigator.permissions property.
- Multimedia elements and added the onwaitingforkey event, designed to handle situations where playback stops due to lack of decryption keys.
Interested in knowing more about it, you can consult the release notes in the following link
How to install Firefox on Linux?
If you are already a Firefox user, you should know that you can easily update to the latest version accessing the configuration menu. Those with automatic updates enabled need not worry as they will receive the new version without manual intervention.
Alternatively, if you prefer not to wait for the automatic update, you can do it manually by going to Menu > Help > About Firefox. This will open a window showing the installed version and, if the feature is enabled, it will check for available updates.
For Ubuntu, Linux Mint and other derivatives users from Ubuntu, too It is possible to update Firefox through the official PPATo do this, open a terminal and enter the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-security/ppa -y sudo apt-get update sudo apt install firefox
Another available installation option is via Flatpak. To use this method, you need to have Flatpak support on your system. Once enabled, you can install Firefox by running the following command in the terminal:
flatpak install flathub org.mozilla.firefox
As for those who already have the browser installed, it is enough to execute the following command to not only update Firefox, but also all its applications that are in Flatpak format:
flatpack update
In the case of those who prefer the use of Snap, the installation of the browser can be done by typing the following command:
sudo snap install firefox
And to update the applications that we have installed in Snap format, just type the following in the terminal:
sudo snap refresh